Understructure for supporting railway-tracks



E. F. L. VAGNEUX.

UNDERSTRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING RAILWAY TRACKS- APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, I919.

1,327,219, 9 Patnted Jan. 6,1920.

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- UNDERSTRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING RAILWAY TRACKS. v

APPLICATION FILED APR.14, 1919- I Y 1,327,219. Patented Jam-6, 1920.

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UNDERSTBUCTURE FOR- SUPPORTING RAILWAY-TRACKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 14, 1919. Serial No. 290,023.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EDMOND FRANQOIS Lr'iorono Vncnnun, a citizen of the French Republic, residing at No. 15 Rue du Chateau, Dijon, France, have invented certain new and useful Understructures for Supporting Railway-Tracks, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a track substructure consisting of cross ties formed of blocks of reinforced concrete united by metallic beams.

It is old in the substructures for tracks to use ties formed of a thin metallic central portion uniting two larger heads of reinforced concrete, and frames composed of two ties united by girders. But these arrangements have not given good results, since their forms and dimensions were not well chosen, the rails being improperly attached to the ties and thus being poorly supported.

The subject of the present invention is a substructure composed of runner ties, of ties with asymmetric joints, of ties with symmetric joints and a frame used at the joints in the curves, characterized by their forms and dimension producing a technical result, and by the method of attachment to the rails. All of these details form a very different whole from systems hitherto proposed and permit the rational distribution of the bearing surface of the track on the ballast, in that only the end blocks of the ties and frame, to the exclusion of the central portions, rest on the ballast.

Figure 1 illustrates by way of example a portion of a railroad trackcomposed of the improved ties, wherein the latter are shown in their various modifications according to their intended location.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are respectively a plan, a side elevation and a cross section, all drawn to a larger scale, of an improved tie for use between the rail joints.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate in plan, end, and side elevation on a larger scale a block located under a joint forming part of a tie supporting a single rail joint (tie for break joint sections), or of a tie supporting two rail joints in straight track sections (tie for non-break joint sections).

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate in plan, end and side elevation on a larger scale a block 10- cated under a joint forming part of a tie for supporting two rail joints.

Fig. 11 is a partial cross section (drawn to a larger scale) of a portion of the track showing in elevation a track screw for attaching the rails to the ties;

The improved rail track (Fig. 1) comprises ordinary track ties 1, break joint track ties 2, non-break joint track ties 3, and double ties at located as above set forth. The diversity of these ties, according to the points where they are to be located, is intended to prevent deformations of the track which they are designed to support in com mon, and which said deformations would occur if the ties were alike. The rails rest upon these ties through the medium of metal or wooden chairs.

The improved tie (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) for supporting'the rails between the joints, is composed of two blocks of reinforced concrete 5 and 6, and a girder-like metal member 7 of I-section, the ends of which are fixed in the blocks.

Holes 8 are provided in the blocks throughout their depth and so formed as to serve as lodgments for track screws 9. The girder-like member may be bare or be covered with concrete between the flanges 10. The upper surface 11 of the blocks is connected by inclined planes 12, 13 and 14 to the rectangular lower portion 15 whose shorter side is located parallel to the track,

rails. The dimensions of the rectangular base may be varied for different tracks according to the nature of the ground, but on an average its width is one and a half times that of the ordinary squared wooden ties usually employed for the respective type of track, and its length is abouttwice its'width. The track rails 16 bear upon the middle of the length of the blocks.

A tie 2 for break joint tracks consists of a girder-like metal member of I-section connecting, as before, two blocks of reinforced concrete, one of which is a normal block used in a tie designed for supporting the rail between the joints, while the other block (Figs. 5, 6 and 7) which may be called a longitudi nal block, consists of a rectangular block 17 whose greatest dimension is located parallel to the track rails. The adjacent ends 18 and 19 of two rails rest together on the said longitudinal block in the middle of the width of the latter, either preferably through the medium of a common central chair, or through the medium of two chairs located one on each side of the center line of the Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

block. The longitudinal block has a greater supporting surface than the normal tie block. This increase of supporting surface and the union of the rail ends forming a joint upon one and the same supporting block, are designed to prevent the rails sagging at the joint. The length of the longitudinal block is approximately equal to the length of a normal tie block, and its width is one and a third that of the same block.

A tie 8 for non-break joint track sections comprises a girder-like metal member of I- section connecting as before two blocks of reinforced concrete exactly similar to the longitudinal block of the break joint tie. Each longitudinal block supports as before the adj acent ends of two rails forming a joint.

A double tie a for supporting two opposite rail joints (Figs. 8, 9 and 10) consists of two longitudinal blocks 20 arranged like those of the joint-ties, but they are longer and are connected by two girder-like members 21 and 22 of I-section. Their length is about one and a quarter that of the longitudinal blocks above described, and their width is the same as the width of the latter. Each longitudinal block is designed to support the ends of'two rails forming a joint, preferably through the medium of separate chairs located in the middle of the length of the block either in line with the girder-like members or between the latter.

The provision of two girder-like members gives to this form of the improved tie a frame-like form which prevents it from 'being shifted laterally by the transverse forces to which the track is subjected in curves.

The means for fixing the rails upon the improved ties consists of a track screw (Fig. 11) adapted to be screwed into a lodgment that is molded at the same time as the tie. The screw 28 is similar to the one employed usually for wooden ties, but with the difference that the truncated conical portion 24 of its neck is dispensed with or reduced to a small length in order that the attachment of the screw in its lodgment shall begin close to its head. This lodgment comprises an up per portion 25 of greater width to receive the neck of the screw, and a lower portion where the screwing takes place. In this portion there is provided around the lodgment,

a metal fitting 26 of the Thiollier type which is embedded in the concrete. This fittting is designed to keep the core of the screw accurately in place and more particularly to reinforce the lodgment by imparting a very great resistance to being torn out. The lodgment has a slight amount of play relatively to the screw, so that it can receive readily screws of slightly greater thickness than the mean thickness. In order to prevent the screw from becoming loose, it is necessary at the time of screwing it in to dip it into a substance such as pure molten bitumen which solidifies and fills up the play around the screw.

What I claim is Understructure for railway track comprising runner ties including two transversely disposed heads of reinforced concrete, a metallic beam I-shaped in cross section incased within said heads, a symmetrical joint ties each comprising a transversely disposed head similar to the runner tie head on one side and a longitudinally disposed reinforced concrete t-ie block 011 the other side below the joint, another metallic beam I- shaped in cross section incased at one end in said last mentioned head and at the other end in said tie block, symmetrical joint ties in a straight alinement also comprisin two longitudinally disposed oblong tie bloc {S of reinforced concrete, another metallic beam I-shaped in cross section incased in said ob long tie blocks, symmetrical joint frames at points at which the track is curved comprising two longitudinally disposed oblong reinforced concrete tie blocks and two additional metallic beams I shaped in cross section incased in said last mentioned tie blocks.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EDMOND FRANQOIS LEOPOLD VAGNEUX. 

